Riesling is one of the world’s most underappreciated grapes, especially among American wine drinkers. Sommeliers love it because it’s so versatile and easy to pair with a variety of foods. Ditto wine writers. But American consumers can’t seem to shed the misconception that all riesling is sweet. Sophisticated wine drinkers aren’t supposed to like sweet wines.

In fairness, when you buy a bottle of riesling, it can be difficult to discern just how sweet the wine is going to be. German rieslings contain some indications, with terms like “trocken” or “kabinett.” Some domestic rieslings carry the word “dry” on their labels, but even that is no guarantee, because there is no objective standard for what is “dry.” Some labels list residual sugar, but that’s only a part of the picture: A riesling can have some residual sugar but still taste fresh and crisp because the wine contains so much acidity.

This was a major topic of discussion at the second Riesling Rendezvous, a trade event held recently at Chateau Ste. Michelle, outside Seattle. At around 800,000 cases a year for all its brands, Ste. Michelle is the world’s largest producer of riesling. The event — which included wines from seven countries — is co-sponsored by Ste. Michelle and Ernst Loosen, a riesling producer in Germany’s Mosel region and Ste. Michelle’s partner in a Washington State riesling called Eroica.

Despite the confusion, times are better than ever for riesling. According to the Nielsen Co., riesling sales, measured by dollar value, were up 98 percent from 2006 to 2008, with case sales up 87 percent. In a presentation at Riesling Rendezvous, John Gillespie and Christian Miller of the research organization Wine Opinions talked about who’s driving some of those sales increases. They conducted a survey for the International Riesling Foundation that found that riesling’s appeal is broadest among younger drinkers, especially those ages 21-39.

People who are frequent riesling drinkers tend to understand that it’s made in multiple styles, from dry to very sweet. But among consumers who reported that they never or rarely drink riesling, the top reason given was that riesling is too sweet.

The International Riesling Foundation has spent the past year working on a scale that producers could use to indicate how sweet the wine is. The group has settled on five categories: dry, off-dry, medium dry, medium sweet and sweet. The categories would be based not only on residual sugar but also on other factors such as acidity and pH. The next step is development of a graphic to show in which category the wine falls. The graphic could be used on back labels or marketing materials.

Some producers have already experimented with such devices. Pey-Marin, for example, makes a Marin County riesling that is very dry. The back label has a scale showing that the wine falls at the dry end of a sweetness scale.

The how-sweet-is-this-riesling issue frustrates winemakers, wine sellers and wine writers, and it led to some testy exchanges at the Riesling Rendezvous. During a tasting of dry rieslings, a writer in the audience pressed the panel of producers on why they don’t just put the level of residual sugar on the label — an imperfect solution, but at least one that would provide some information. Winemakers had a variety of reasons for rejecting this idea, especially the fact that it doesn’t take into account the interplay among sugar, acidity and pH.

Panel moderator Tom Stevenson, a British wine writer, suggested that makers of dry riesling should put the word “dry” on the label. But what is “dry”? That decision would be left up to the producer and might be abused by marketing departments.

Space doesn’t permit me to go into many of the wines I tasted, so I’ll concentrate on some of the drier versions. Not every region that produces riesling can make a successful dry riesling. In the cooler areas of Germany, for example, like the Mosel, acidity is so high that the wine usually will be better balanced if there’s some sweetness. A truly dry riesling would just be too searing and austere. But in warmer areas, like Franconia and Pfalz, there are some good dry examples.

There are also good dry versions from France’s Alsace region, Austria, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Domestically, the best dry rieslings tend to come from Oregon and New York’s Finger Lakes region, although there are some good ones from California, Washington, even Michigan. (Unfortunately, it’s extremely difficult to find wines around here from the Finger Lakes and Michigan, and most Canadian wines you’ll see are ice wines.)

From California, I enjoyed the crisp, limey 2007 Trefethen Dry Riesling ($22) and the very dry, zingy 2007 Pey-Marin “The Shell Mound” Riesling ($24). The 2006 Navarro Vineyards White Riesling ($18) displays flavors of lime and wet stone. (Navarro wines must be ordered from the winery; go to www.navarrowine.com.) Chateau Ste. Michelle makes a tasty and attractively priced dry riesling that’s drier than the regular riesling bottling (the regular riesling is also very good). The 2007 Dry Riesling ($12) is a little fleshy, with spiced apple flavors. Other good choices from Washington include the 2007 Pacific Rim Wallula Vineyard Riesling ($18), with its racy lime and apple flavors, and the 2007 Long Shadows Poet’s Leap Riesling ($20), which is scented with white peaches and apples. From Oregon, there’s the very floral 2007 Chehalem Reserve Dry Riesling ($21).

Most Australian rieslings are dry to barely off-dry. One of the best is from the historic Pewsey Vale Vineyard in Eden Valley. The 2007 Pewsey Vale Riesling ($17) is bright and rich, with a smooth finish. The rieslings from Grosset are leaner and more austere. The 2007 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling ($46) is still very tight and would benefit from some age, while the 2007 Grosset Watervale Riesling ($31) is a little more generous and ready to drink now. The 2007 Mesh Riesling ($27), a joint project of Jeffrey Grosset (of Grosset) and Robert Hill Smith (Yalumba), offers floral aromas and lime and lime oil flavors. The 2006 Henschke “Julius” Riesling ($32) is very racy, with notes of lime zest and kerosene (not a bad thing in riesling).

The dollar’s decline against the euro means that some European wines are getting very expensive. But if you want to try a good dry riesling from Alsace, there’s the 2002 Trimbach Cuvée Frederic Emile Riesling ($50), which is fleshy yet racy, with lime, some floral notes and a hint of kerosene. Arriving later this year from Germany is the zippy, fresh 2007 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheim Riesling ($37). I tasted a number of other good dry rieslings from Germany, but many of them are made in limited quantities and can be hard to find. In general, look for the term “trocken,” which means “dry,” on the labels.

More in News

Attorneys for Summer Zervos have asked the Trump campaign for any document or communications about her and “all documents concerning any woman who asserted that Donald J. Trump touched her inappropriately.”